Wings and crackers

Well, I'm back. Didja miss me? I bet you didn't even realize I was gone, so exciting is this WordPress magic (thank goodness for being able to change the timestamp on a post).

Anyway, before the barely coherent babbling continues, I shall regale you with stories of my trip to my aunt's place.

We left on Friday. I was under the impression that we were leaving at 8:00 (A.M.) to arrive at 3:00 (P.M), but actually we were leaving at 3:00 (P.M.) to arrive at 8:00 (P.M). (Just another reason to bring 24-hour time into common use.) That said, I was relieved that I actually had time to get ready. So my grandmother came over, we got our stuff and the dog, and we left.

We took the Turnpike, which, I am convinced, was built for us South Floridians to get to Disney World quickly (only about 3 hours). It begins (or ends) here in South(east) Florida, and cuts through the state to end somewhat past the Orlando area. And let me tell you, if you thought Florida was fun all around, think again. Inland, you can go without seeing a single exit for a half an hour.

Anyway, we finally meandered up to the town High Springs, Florida (just past it, actually). My aunt lives near a street called SE Happy Valley Glen. Hence we call her place Happy Valley. It's also the residence of my aunt's special friend, Tom. I call him that here because the two of them have never showed an inkling of being romantically involved, although I'd just assume that they're taking things (very) slow. (I met Tom when they first moved into Happy Valley three years ago.)

It was indeed around 8:00 when we got there, and I was ferociously hungry. I had realized that the grown-ups were going to have a dinner of chicken wings, cheese and crackers, and shrimp, and I had the option to get fast food instead, but I went with my original decision even though the hunger should have made me act otherwise. It was a very light dinner. Later I slept in a bedroom that I think I've never slept in. My dad got the bed, and I, as always, got stuck with the air mattress, which was more uncomfortable than usual. (Someone need to come up with a mattress that feels good to lie on and is classier than those that they hawk on TV.)

The next morning we all got up and stuff. Tom decided that he would mow the lawn, but the rest of us headed into town (Gainesville, that is) to see the/a natural history museum on the campus of the University of Florida. They had a sort of butterfly-type garden where you could see butterflies flying around everywhere and stuff. Some were small, some were big, some were bright, dark, old, young, whatever. But there were a whole lot of them. I wasn't at ease with the whole situation. Butterflies and colleges scare me.

Of course, then "we" (i.e., the grown-ups) decided that "we" should drive around the campus and check things out, and of course "everybody"(my aunt and grandmother, I guess) asked how my sister and I want to spend our lives. Apparently my sister has been thinking about UF (no comments please, read further), and I haven't really been thinking about anything at all. I have no idea what to do with my life. I thought that maybe after I graduate high school I could just go off into the woods (what woods?) and be self-sufficient.

But right, my comments about colleges. Colleges/universities and the rivalries they create disgust me. They build walls between men where we should be tearing them down. Who cares if you went to this one school and someone else didn't? Does that make you better than them? Depending on the schools, it might, but come on! Why would it offend you? I know these things are usually treated in a lighthearted manner, but still, it annoys me how people brag about their alma mater as if it's the greatest thing in the world (or pick one to brag about if they didn't go to college).

After that we ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant called On the Border (Flash with sound!) Unlike hole-in-the-wall Mexican places, it had the atmosphere of a semi-classy American-style restaurant such as Friday's (Flash with sound also?!), Chili's (What? Another site with Flash and music??), Ruby Tuesday (Flash, but silent), and the like (and I guess Applebee's, which also has a site that uses Flash and sound, but I never really eat there). More importantly, the food was very good, and I'd definitely go there again.

For dinner we went to the Priest Theater, which I had seen and marveled at but had never been to. I mean, come on! They have a chaperone to make sure you're not making out and stuff. I was convinced that the folks running this one-screen theater in High Springs wouldn't let me in without a tie. But one I had a good look at their dress code (I had only ever glanced at it when I passed by), it's fairly lax if you're not black. No baggy clothes, etc. I was expecting no white tees and gold chains, but they didn't come to that. The girls' dress code wasn't much stricter than the one at school, but it almost made me weep. (Any time a girl can't exercise her freedom of expression by showing a lot of skin, I cry inside.)

My aunt had bought advance tickets for Batman Begins, the movie that they were showing. (The tickets were those cheap ones that come in a roll. You might see them if you bought a ticket for a cheap raffle or a church carnival or something. Except these tickets had no words on them, only the numbers.) Normally comic book movies bore me to tears, but this one turned out to be pretty good, notwithstanding the poor picture quality and even worse sound of the system of the venue. The theater was rather primitive -- that is, it didn't really have stadium seating -- which felt me more like a member of a mob than an individual moviegoer. (Oh, and if you're curious, a one-screen movie theater plays only the previews for movies it's going to show. Thus, there was a single preview, for The Dukes of Hazzard.)

When we got home, we had a dinner of leftover wings with cheese and crackers. Actually, I had somebody's leftovers from lunch. It was really good.

Since this is running pretty long, I'll continue tomorrow. Let's move on with Ask Jordon.

Yellow Chicken: Tell us about your favourite airplane experience......

Well, I'll tell you about my only airplane experience. Actually, I'll have you read it yourself in this August 2004 post. But of the two times I've been on a plane, getting back was certainly more interesting. My dad, my aunt, my grandmother, and I were staying at my great aunt's house in Pittsburgh when we saw on the news that Hurricane Charley was hitting Florida. Of course, having been gone for some time, we had no idea. We thought the flight might be delayed or canceled, but apparently it wasn't, so we went to the airport anyway. The pilot said we'd be a few minutes behind schedule because he was going to go around the hurricane, which thankfully was small and not threatening the vicinity of our destination. When we landed, it was a beautiful, calm evening, and you'd never know that we had just passed by a powerful hurricane ravaging the other side of the state.

If you cook, read these kitchen myths. Many things you thought you know about food and cooking just might be untrue. For example, a box of baking soda in a refrigerator does not absorb odors -- it's just a marketing ploy, because why would you actually use baking soda?